You've been breathing all wrong

It's literally the most boring thing you do every day. And
thank goodness — if breathing weren't completely rote, we'd all
be dead.

But if you're like me, your inhales and exhales seem to be
inexplicably linked with your state of mind. When I'm stressed, I
steal antsy, shallow sips of air and puff them out quickly. When
I'm relaxed, on the other hand, I breathe in gently and deeply,
before letting go of the air slowly.

Studies suggest that I'm not the only one who's noticed
a link between their emotional state and their breathing.

While rapid breathing can often be a symptom of stress or
anxiety, research shows that taking control of our breathing can
also influence how we feel. Consciously taking deep, slow
breaths, for example, may calm us down by convincing our minds
that we're already in a state of relaxation, Dr. Martin Paulus, a
professor of psychiatry at the University of California San Diego
professor, writes in a 2013
manuscript in the journal Depression and Anxiety.

Unfortunately, many of us are used to breathing in a way that
tends to be bad for us.

"For many of us, deep breathing seems unnatural. There are
several reasons for this. For one, body image has a negative
impact on respiration in our culture. A flat stomach is
considered attractive, so women (and men) tend to hold in their
stomach muscles. This interferes with deep breathing and
gradually makes shallow 'chest breathing' seem normal,"
write the folks at the Harvard Medical School in a recent
blog post. These quick inhalations and exhalations can actually
make us feel more tense.

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But there are plenty of ways to change this pattern — and plenty
of research that supports doing so too.

A 2012
randomized controlled study of 46 male and female musicians
who were briefly trained in deep breathing and biofeedback
suggested that a single 30-minute session of slow breathing (with
or without the biofeedback component) helped reduce symptoms of
anxiety before a performance, particularly in musicians who said
they tended to get very anxious.

The benefits may extend to people with more severe anxiety as
well. The authors of a small 2014
study of male veterans with PTSD found that those who did
three hours each day of a breathing-based meditation program for
a week experienced a decrease in PTSD symptoms and anxiety.

If you've never tried deep breathing before,
Harvard has some tips for giving it a shot. First, find a
quiet, comfortable place to sit or lie down. Then, inhale slowly
through your nose, letting your chest and lower stomach expand.
Finally, exhale slowly through your mouth or nose. It also can be
helpful to count while you're breathing as a way of helping to
even out your inhales and exhales.